Kingdoms

Contents

Geography

A Map of Remnant with the four Kingdoms highlighted

The four Kingdoms of Remnant are Vale (center), Vacuo (west), Atlas (north) and Mistral (east). Each of the Kingdoms has their own distinct culture - for example, Atlas is known for its martial nature and technological advancement, and Vacuo for its rough-and-tumble lifestyle.

Vale and Vacuo are located on the continent called Sanus. Mistral is on the continent of Anima. Atlas is on the continent of Solitas. Vytal is the name of the island to the north of Vale. Other known landmasses include Menagerie, the continent to the bottom right.

The last dragon-shaped continent (to the west of Vale, north of Vacuo) remains unidentified. Although it was apparently at one point inhabited, no settlements are currently known to exist on the continent.[1]

History

Legends

According to Ozpin, Humanity was created by two god brothers. The narration in "Ruby Rose" states that the early history of Remnant has been long forgotten, with recollections being passed down in the form of myths and legends. One such legend is the existence of the Maidens, holders of an immense power that is passed down from generation to generation. Another early legend tells of extraordinarily powerful warriors with silver eyes were feared by the Grimm and could strike down their foes with a single look.

In the world of Remnant, all living creatures possess a soul, the physical manifestation of which is known as Aura: a form of innate energy that bestows its user with certain abilities and powers. Unique expressions of these abilities which are specific to individuals are known as Semblances. Remnant is populated by two intelligent species - Humanity and Faunus, a race of Human-animal hybrids.

Mankind battles the Grimm

Legend states that mankind was born from dust into a hostile world, forced to battle for survival against soulless creatures of darkness known as the Grimm. However, man discovered a power that would help them combat the forces of darkness; they named their newly discovered power, Dust, after that from which they were formed. Armed with Dust, described as "Nature's Wrath", mankind was able to turn the tide against the Grimm.

True History

In truth, before it was called that, Remnant was originally seeded by the brothers, the Gods of Light and Darkness, who created humanity as a joint project to bridge their differences. Humanity existed alongside their creators for ages until a time when a young woman named Salem confronted the gods, demanding that they return her lost love, Ozma to them. After they refused, she tried to force the issue, only to be cursed with immortality.

The God of Darkness wipes out mankind.

Angry and frustrated, Salem spread the word to the various kingdoms that they could overthrow the gods, and take their powers for themselves. This got humanity to rebel against their creators, but when they attempted to confront them, the God of Darkness effortlessly wiped them all out, save for Salem. The gods then elected to leave, with the God of Darkness destroying the moon in the process, taking magic with them, leaving this world and its inhabitants a mere remnant of what they once were.

Eventually, humanity recovered from its extinction and found themselves joined now by another intelligent race, the Faunus. The world, however, was not the same, and without magic, they were vulnerable to the Grimm. To that end, they harnessed the power of Dust to defend themselves.

Modern Times

In the absence of darkness, mankind was able to build civilization and spread throughout the world. The mining of Dust would continue to be a major industry, leading to the rise of large enterprises such as the Schnee Dust Company.

However, having survived the Grimm menace, Humanity began to turn against itself, spiraling into a series of self-destructive conflicts. The largest of these was the Great War, fought over issues of individualism and self-expression. Conflict also arose between the Humans and the subjugated Faunus, eventually sparking the Faunus Rights Revolution.

In the current day, most people live within the four Kingdoms - Vale, Mistral, Atlas and Vacuo. Through a combination of Human tenacity and the use of natural barriers, these settlements managed to survive and are regarded as "safe havens" and "beacons of hope" for Humanity. Small villages and nomadic communities do exist outside of the territories of the main Kingdoms, though they are noted as being far more vulnerable to Grimm attacks. This serves to emphasize that Remnant is not a particularly welcoming world to Humans and Faunus.

Following the Great War, Huntsman Academies, such as Beacon Academy, were created to train Huntsmen and Huntresses, warriors whose sole purpose was to combat the Grimm using a combination of powerful weapons, Aura and Dust. In doing so, they protect those who cannot protect themselves from the dangers of Remnant.

Politics

The Kingdoms are governed by councils

In the World of Remnant episode, "Kingdoms", a brief description is given on how the Kingdoms are governed - each Kingdom has a governing council that represents the needs of their people. The powers and responsibilities of these councils, as well as how members are appointed, are not stated.

In the area of security, they are known to have influence over the administration of the Huntsmen of academies - in "Breach", the council of Vale chastises Ozpin following a Grimm incursion into the city, and have demonstrated the authority to question his suitability as headmaster of Beacon.

Apart from Huntsmen, conventional militaries are also known to exist, but not all of the Kingdoms keep standing armies. The Kingdom of Atlas is known to maintain a sizable military force, fielding a large air fleet, as well as robotic soldiers and mechs.

Although the world is said to be in an unprecedented state of peace, social issues seriously threaten the status quo - racial tensions between the Faunus and Humans caused by continuing prejudice in society, the immoral practices of the Schnee Dust Company, as well as agitation from the White Fang terrorist group, continue to cause friction in society. The Grimm still thrive in the wild areas outside the territory of the four Kingdoms, whilst plotting by mysterious groups threaten them from within. The narration of "Kingdoms" implies that the future of Humanity is heavily contingent upon the continued cooperation of the four Kingdoms.

Culture

The Vytal Festival is an event at which the diverse cultures of Remnant are celebrated

Remnant has a vibrant culture owing to the diversity of its inhabitants. Each of the four Kingdoms has a unique identity and this distinctive character is encouraged by events such as the Vytal Festival, where the people of Remnant gather to celebrate their cultures.

Given the importance of Huntsmen and Huntresses in mankind's continued existence, part of this celebration also includes a combat tournament between students of the Kingdoms' respective academies.

Names

A significant part of Remnant's worldwide culture is the practice of naming children after colors.

During the Great War, attempts by tyrannical oppressors to limit individualism and self-expression were met by a violent backlash from the populace. In response to persecutors' attempts to destroy art, people began to name their children after a fundamental element of art - color - sending the message that the next generation would also fight to prevent the destruction of their individuality.

After the end of the War and the defeat of this subjugation, the practice continued into the present day, and virtually all citizens of Remnant have names derived from colors.

Discrimination

There is a significant amount of discrimination towards Faunus in Remnant's past and present. Since the Faunus War, in which they gained freedom by law, Faunus have continued to face discrimination and exploitation from Humans. Whether this is the norm or the actions of a minority is unknown; however, it is enough to cause some Faunus to turn to the terrorist group, the White Fang.

By contrast, Remnant appears to be a very egalitarian world when it comes to the sexes, as seen at Beacon Academy. Both sexes share locker rooms, and teams that have both sexes in them share dorm rooms. There never appears to be animosity from men towards women or women towards men on the basis of sex.

Technology

Remnant has a wide variety of advanced technologies. The Kingdom of Atlas, in particular, is known for its technological advances in numerous fields. Most technology is powered by Dust, which is the primary source of energy in Remnant.

One of the most significant examples of Remnant's technology are the weapons of huntsmen and huntresses. Unique weapons are designed and manufactured by their users on an individual basis and use a variety of techniques to increase their effectiveness, such as in-the-field transformations for versatility, and the harnessing of Dust.

Robotics is an advanced field in Remnant – Penny is the first synthetic being capable of producing an Aura

The field of robotics, as well as artificial intelligence, is incredibly advanced in Remnant. Androids built specifically for combat are known to be a mainstay of the Atlesian military,[2] with units such as the Atlesian Knight-130 and Atlesian Knight-200 being capable of operating autonomously. Large human-controlled mechanical suits, such as the Atlesian Paladin-290 are also produced by Atlas. However, the most remarkable achievement in the field of robotics is the creation of androids capable of generating Aura (for which a soul is believed to be necessary). Penny Polendina was the first and currently only such robot known to exist.

Advanced personal electronics are also commonplace. The Scroll is a mobile device that serves multiple purposes, including making phone calls, taking photographs, viewing live video feeds, as a form of personal identification, and as a digital data storage device.[3][4] Furthermore, Scrolls are shown to be invaluable in combat as they can electronically monitor and warn on a combatant's aura deterioration. Holograms are also common, being used as personal avatars, computer displays, and even as traffic lights and barriers.

Communication and data transmission over vast distances are also possible through the use of the Cross Continental Transmit System. The CCTS was created by the Kingdom of Atlas following the Great War as a gift to enable the Kingdoms to communicate with each other effectively. Video calls and digital file transfers are some of the capabilities of the CCT, and equivalent technology is available in many places, such as public libraries.

In terms of transportation, land-based transports include standard motor vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles and trains, as well as non-motor vehicles, such as bicycles. Airborne vehicles include enormous passenger Airships, agile VTOL aircraft known as Bullheads, and hoverboards. However, spaceflight is impossible since Dust loses its power once it leaves the atmosphere.

Remnant: The Game

Remnant: The Game is a strategy board game based on a map of Remnant. Players control one of the four Kingdoms and aim to eliminate other players. Team RWBY plays the game in "Welcome to Beacon".

Conception

The inspiration for the world, a napkin stained with ketchup

The world map of RWBY was created by Monty Oum in 2012. It was based on ketchup smears made on a napkin he was using while at IHOP. Monty also stated that he textured the World Map by taking different pictures of food. The different foods he used included mashed potatoes, steaks, ice cream, bread, corn, cereal, ramen, shrimp, tacos, pizza, lettuce and possibly bacon.

Monty revealed his design in Rooster Teeth's 191st podcast on November 14th, 2012.[5] He reveals and explains his first drafts of the map starting at around 9:00 in the video.

His creation of the map started with him going to IHOP and squirting ketchup on a napkin then randomizing the blots to form the continents, which he then scanned and edited via Photoshop as a base for the world map.

Trivia

The combat schools in each Kingdom have a naming pattern.

As seen with Beacon, Signal and Pharos, combat schools in Vale seem to be named after buildings or devices made to navigate, communicate or attract attention.

As seen with Haven and Sanctum, combat schools in Mistral seem to be named after places of privacy, safety and refuge.

As seen with Shade and Oscuro, combat schools in Vacuo seem to be named after darkness and shelter from sunlight.

Although Menagerie is not a Kingdom, it is shown to have a core city and external settlements and its own map color.

Remnant has a long, rich history that has been lost to the current inhabitants, hinted at by the quote, "Legends. Stories scattered through time. Mankind has grown fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, byproducts, of a forgotten past".

Remnant was previously called Vytal. When it was changed to Remnant, Vytal became the name of the continent on which Vale is located.[6] Later it was changed again, and Vytal became the island north of Vale.

Similarly to both the Qrow Branwen and Cinder Fall pages, an account registered as Montyoum made an edit to this page on November 10th, 2013. This changed the name of the world from the then-accepted "Vytal", to the now-accepted "Remnant".

Two of the landmasses in the final version of the map closely resemble dragons (both Eastern and Western styled), having serpentine-like bodies with what resembles wings, horns and jaws.

The dragon continent in the northwest has yet to be named, or even mentioned, either in the main story or in any World Of Remnant episodes.

Image Gallery

Official Media

A map of Remnant

A terrain map of Remnant

The map of Remnant

The inspiration for the world

Oobleck's map of Remnant

An angled view of the board of Remnant: The Game.

Another view of the Remnant: The Game board.

The approximate locations of the Kingdoms of Atlas, Mistral, Vacuo, and Vale.